Book Description

| Age Level:9 and up

Blockbuster author Dean Koontz’s first novel for young readers, a beautifully illustrated and visually stunning story about a magical band of living toys who learn to overcome the fears we all face in the dark

Toymaker Isaac Bodkins created the Oddkins, a group of living toys, for very special children who face difficulties in life and need true friends. There’s Amos, the brave stuffed bear; Skippy, the rabbit who dreams of being a superstar; Butterscotch, the gentle, floppy-eared pup; Burl the elephant; the wise and scholarly Gibbons; and Patch the cat. The Oddkins are given to children to inspire, support, and love them, especially during times of adversity. Only now, the toys themselves are the ones who need help.

Before he dies, Mr. Bodkins delivers a dire warning to Amos the bear: Watch out for an evil toymaker and his dangerous creations! Locked up in the dark sub-basement, another group of toys is climbing out of boxes and crates and coming to life as well. These bad toys—like Rex and Lizzie, the puppets with no strings; Gear, the vicious robot; and Stinger, the horrid buzzing bumblebee with his knife-sharp stinger—were made to hurt children, not help them. Leering, laughing, and deadly, they are let loose into the world by a terrifying force.

Frightening as it may be, the Oddkins must go on a journey to find Colleen Shannon, Mr. Bodkins’s chosen successor as a life-giving toymaker and the only person who can save them. The stormy night is perilous and the Oddkins face a danger that threatens not only their magic . . . but the magic in us all.

Blockbuster author Dean Koontz’s first novel for young readers, a beautifully illustrated and visually stunning story about a magical band of living toys who learn to overcome the fears we all face in the dark

Toymaker Isaac Bodkins created the Oddkins, a group of living toys, for very special children who face difficulties in life and need true friends. There’s Amos, the brave stuffed bear; Skippy, the rabbit who dreams of being a superstar; Butterscotch, the gentle, floppy-eared pup; Burl the elephant; the wise and scholarly Gibbons; and Patch the cat. The Oddkins are given to children to inspire, support, and love them, especially during times of adversity. Only now, the toys themselves are the ones who need help.

Before he dies, Mr. Bodkins delivers a dire warning to Amos the bear: Watch out for an evil toymaker and his dangerous creations! Locked up in the dark sub-basement, another group of toys is climbing out of boxes and crates and coming to life as well. These bad toys—like Rex and Lizzie, the puppets with no strings; Gear, the vicious robot; and Stinger, the horrid buzzing bumblebee with his knife-sharp stinger—were made to hurt children, not help them. Leering, laughing, and deadly, they are let loose into the world by a terrifying force.

Frightening as it may be, the Oddkins must go on a journey to find Colleen Shannon, Mr. Bodkins’s chosen successor as a life-giving toymaker and the only person who can save them. The stormy night is perilous and the Oddkins face a danger that threatens not only their magic . . . but the magic in us all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though it looks and reads like a children's book, the latest work by bestselling novelist Koontz ( Watchers , Lightning ) is being marketed for adult audiences. As such, it falls far short of even adequate: both stylistically and in terms of characterization, it lacks the complexity that would engage an adult reader's interest. The living toys Isaac Bodkins makes in his magic workshop are designed to be sent out into the world to befriend troubled or mistreated children. As the book opens, Bodkins has just died, and the toys must attempt a long trek across town to tell young Colleen Shannon that she is the new magic toymaker. Now that Bodkin's benign spirit has departed, however, the evil toys in the sub-basement are coming to life, and they are intent on destroying their benevolent counterparts and installing their own dark-souled creator to spread sorrow and fear among children. The trip across town becomes a harrowing adventure, providing enough excitement and humor to hold a child's attention but not enough to motivate an adult to appropriate the work for the family bookcase. Parks's illustrations are excellent. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Dean Koontz is the author of fifty-six New York Times bestsellers, including Odd Thomas, From the Corner of His Eye, and Watchers. His books are published in thirty-six languages and his worldwide sales top 450 million copies.

With Oddkins, his first book for young readers, Koontz introduces a magical and dazzling world of toys and terror, good versus evil. Oddkins is a fable for our time, a deeply moving story for all ages.

Phil Parks is a freelance artist who also illustrated Koontz’s Twilight Eyes and Santa’s Twin.

Anytime Koontz and Parks collaborate the result is beautiful. Koontz brings the Oddkins to life each with their own personalities and quirks. Parks' illustrations are gorgeous. When the story begins the old toymaker has just passed away. His magical toy creations, the Oddkins, must now recruit their creator's selection of the new toymaker before the Dark One can dispatch his minions to take over the toyshop and create evil toys. The Oddkins set out on a quest across town to the new toymaker's shop pursued by evil toys from an earlier maker. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and story while the many illustrations give the book a great look and atmosphere. The Oddkins are interesting and loveable characters while the evil toys are quite menacing. The story includes many smaller lessons, including courage, loyalty, and faith, that are appropriate for any age to learn. I would not, however, recommend this book for very young children. There are some scenes and pictures which would no doubt be scary for a small child. I was impressed with the depth of the tale and would absolutely recommend this book to anyone seeking a fun, and heartfelt story.

I have read this book to my 4th. grade class for the last 11 years...... I have tryed to make up a different voice for each the main characters.... We have even put on a school-play based on the part of the book that takes place in the department store....the kids love getting dressed up in the costumes that I had made up ..... I love when kids come back( who are now in college /high school) and ask if I still read the story of the Oddkins....

When you think of children's authors, you might think Rowling, Lewis, Seuss. But Dean Koontz? Definitely does not spring to mind. Yet, he did write a children's book and, you know what, it's pretty darn good. The Oddkins would best be described as a classic battle between good and evil. A good toy maker has been making toys, the oddkins, magical toys which come alive for children just when they need them. However, the toy maker is dying without having contacted his successor. If she is not contacted quickly the toy shop will be taken over by an evil toy maker who will only make toys to hurt children. So begins an epic journey by a small but stalwart band of intrepid oddkins to go to the city and find the woman meant to take over the shop. Pursuing them is a group of evil toys who will do anything to stop this from happening.

Oddkins is a fun read with all the components of a Dean Koontz novel except, thank goodness, the schmaltzy romance. The Manichean battle between good and evil, the dangerous journey through that dark and stormy night and, of course, the happy ending. Along the way, there are lots of adventures, close calls, and, in the case of one oddkin, some really bad but somehow endearing poetry. The good characters are very, very good and the bad ones, well, they're pure evil.

However, what makes this book a real standout are the marvelous multi-coloured and vibrant illustrations by Phil Parks. Not only are they very easy on the eyes, they really complement the story, adding a dimension which would be lacking without them.

The Oddkins will likely appeal to children more than to adults. Although a good moral is the whole point of a fable, at times, all the platitudes and moral preaching get in the way of the story. Still, put that aside and concentrate on the adventure (and especially the illustrations), and you've got a terrific story to read to your children when the monster under the bed comes a-calling and they need to believe that good always trumps evil.Read more ›

Let me start out by saying how excited I was to be able to read this on my new Kindle Fire HD because the illustrations really add a lot to the story. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this story, and to be honest, I am still not. I have been a fan of Dean Koontz's for many years - to be honest he is one of my favorite authors. But, I have to say that I don't really think the writing was up to par for me. I know that the story is geared more toward kids - at least I would think so - but I still think the writing lacked a little.

The premise of the story is something that I did love. To think of these "Oddkins" being created to help children through rough times in their life - I loved that! I have a favorite stuffed animal from my childhood that I took everywhere with me, and each of my girls have one...to think that these could have `magic' to help see us through was a great idea. And, add in the Charon toys and you have a true good versus evil story. After the Oddkins maker, Uncle Isaac, dies in the beginning, the toys set out on a journey to bring in the next toymaker, a journey this is extremely important because the longer it takes, the better chance that something bad can happen in the toy factory, and evil forces are certainly at play. I loved the fact that two of the evil toys were marionettes...come on, who doesn't think these are creepy?

Overall a good story and one I think I would have thought was better if I wasn't such a diehard fan of his other work. Give it a shot though as I don't think you will be disappointed.